1991 Lincoln LSC Mark VII

Cranberry Metallic Clearcoat

a Cherry

Sheridan Vincent

Rochester, NY

last modified July 3, 2001

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On the other page I have described the recovery effort I did last summer for my 1991 Lincoln LSC, Titanium. Over the winter I had it covered up with a nice Auto Cover and on life support with a Battery Tender. Hibernation was good for her, but not so good for me and I began prowling the AutoTrader.com website looking for other Lincoln Mark VII’s that people had for sale. One caught my eye. With only 30,600 miles it was described as “pristine” and priced at $12,900. I held out for a while and then decided to call to learn more about the car. Big mistake, the more George talked about the condition of the car the more interested I got. He offered to send a photo. When it arrived, I saw how sharp it looked. In early March in Rochester, there is still a pile of snow, so I figured that I would have to hold off anyway for a while with any offer. In the meantime, I had worked it out with George that if he had an offer, to let me know. I was still wondering about the logistics of purchasing a car that was 300 miles away in another state. One night as I was coming in from work, George was on the line, he was following up on my original interest as he had an offer. On the spot, I felt compelled to make an offer, I came down a fair amount his asking price. George accepted that as the highest bid and we made a gentleman’s agreement that I would put down a payment and when the weather got better that I would drive down to see it. He agreed to let me back out of the deal if when I saw it I had any reason not to want it. By the first week in April, I drove the 300 miles to just west of Pittsburgh in Ohio and saw that the car was everything that George had described. It was like looking at a brand new, 10-year old car. The interior looked like it was not sat in. The exterior was clean. There was a slight spotting on the Clearcoat. At 30, 600 miles she was about as new as I was likely to find. I checked it out carefully (and it turns out I missed some very fine door dings on the passenger side). Chrome was very nice. Engine was clean. Inside it still smelled new, or whatever that characteristic Mark VII smell is that I now find in two vehicles. The deep, almost burgundy, red began to grow on me a bit, although I wish it was one of the lighter colors.

George had bought it the previous fall at a dealer—Benson Lincoln Mercury-- in Pittsburgh. We don’t know much about the original owners, other than the beauty that they were able to maintain. George put some new Michelin Roadmaster Plus T (Sears marketed) tires on it as well as a couple coats of wax.

During the first visit, I paid George for the car with a pre-drawn bank check, drove back home and spent the next day paying the governor for the sales tax, getting it registered and picking up a rental car. On Wednesday, April 10 I drove the rental (an nice Taurus SE) to the Pittsburgh airport, where George met me. We had a nice chat during the hour drive to his house. We put on the plates, took some pictures and then I was on a five hour joy ride getting it home I wonder when I will ever put 300 miles on it in a day. Lots of rain earlier in the day in the area, but I was able to get it home with no raindrops hitting it.

Unlike the Titanium 91 LSC, there will not be much needed to get this one cleaned up. I have used some of the tricks under the hood that I described on the Titanium page. The gray-surfaced rubber parts under the hood cleaned up nicely to black, the photo under the hood was when I was about half done with the cleaning.

Within the week of purchase, I took it to the local Lincoln Dealer, Doan, Lincoln Mercury, for the inspection and the first round of routine maintenance. They put one of their experienced mechanics on it. I had pulled the one easily accessible spark plug and it appeared to be original and had requested new ones. I had also learned from the technical websites on the Mark VII that I should be sure to change the PCV Screen and the crank case filter. The dealer suggested new fuel filter, spark plug wires, and radiator flush, which I agreed with. The mechanic mentioned that there appeared to be a little seepage for the oil pan gasket, but it was not at a point of dripping, he cleaned it up. I was pleased when he told me that the car drew quite a crowd at the dealership with the comments that it looked brand new. When he asked where I found it, he could relate to it being a “Pennsylvania Car”.

I wish that I had more information on the car from the original owner. I have run a check on the Internet and find that it was registered in Canonsburg, PA. I plan to write to the Lincoln Dealer – Community Motor Company, Canonsburg, PA for any history they have for the car. I tried the request to the Lincoln Customer Support for a Report 99, but the support person said they would not do the report. He offered to call back with some information, but I never heard from them.

I have  rewax it with the Zaino Brothers product that seems to be very popular with many product champions in a recent posting at the Lincoln Online site. What a deep shine it gives! And so smooth I think the dust just slide off.  It looks great. Just as in the case of my Titanium-colored car, this one shows some damage of the clearcoat that looks like water spots when you look very carefully. It appears this is an inherent defect in the finish. 

The first thing I ordered was a bottle of the Ford touch-up paint; there are a two very small paint chips on the front that touched up nicely.

I will update this page periodically as I learn more and make more progress.

One of the things that is fun about the Lincoln Mark VII is that it attracts several different interests. There are those who are into the performance and racing, there are those who are enjoying racking up several 100K mileage as a superb daily driver and there are those who enjoy the fun of detailing out a classic design that sparkles when cleaned. That is what I enjoy--having a 10 year old car that looks new and is totally stock with low mileage. This is an issue of supply and demand and what the market will bear. I am not getting into this expecting anything other than that the cars will continue to depreciate, but there is also the possibility that we are in the same position as the guys in 1967 who were looking at the early T-Birds and realizing that they could afford to get one as a used car. Twenty years from now, hmmmm, aged 72, youch, I hope that I still have one of these in the garage taking it out on a Sunday and letting everyone see “A Classic.”

 More Photos of the Interior

  May 2001 I had posted a query at LincolnsonLine.com, if anyone had a stock CD/Radio (Premium, not JBL) that I could purchase to replace the cassette/Radio that was in the car. I didn’t get any takers, but did get a note from the president of Southern Electronics Inc., who suggested that I could get a remanufactured unit from them and that I should call his tech sales rep at 1-888-487-3500. I called the next day, Ron was very knowledgeable about the car and steered me to a stock Lincoln CD/radio post 1992. Apparently the electronics in the newer CD/radio was significantly improved and that it would fit right in. They would also modify the power supply, since there was a difference between 6 and 12 volt on the two designs. After they modified it that all I would have to do would be to plug it in. Although not absolutely stock for a 1991, it was close enough for me and I went for the deal. It took a little more than a week to get the unit modified and shipped to me. Cost was a bit more than I was planning, but in hindsight I am very pleased and satisfied at the $325 cost (this is the price after I ship back my current unit for a credit of $150). As recommended I also ordered the Ford Radio Removal Tools. The installation was a piece of cake. (the trick with the removal tool is to pull out away from each other, slightly once it is seated in the holes. Because of the styling difference there is about an eighth-inch gap between the unit and the open mount that was at first an annoyance, since the surround of the hole is white. I took the unit out again and painted the white plastic surround with a mat black paint. After reinstalling the unit, it is now hardly noticeable. 

Here is a shot of the newly installed unit. It looks and sounds great.

July 2001 The Marchal Foglamps appear mint and to keep them that way, I went looking for a set of the grey covers that fit over the front of the lamp and snap onto the lamp itself. I contacted Paul at Special Vehicle Products www.svpu.com and he had a brand new set in the original Ford box. At $30 a piece it seemed a bit high, but assuming they are obsolete that may have been the only way to go. New condition would be a good match for the car. My reservations about the price were immediately dismissed when they showed up and on the car they are perfect. I polished them up with some Lexol Vinylex Protectant and snapped them on right away.

Hopefully, the fascination (growing obsession?) will stop with two LSC’s. I did catch myself back on the Autotrader.com site the other night, “Just Checking” Who knows if the obsession can be contained when the next mint LSC is listed within striking distance, I suspect that more of these may start popping up as people move on with the cars of their life. Wouldn’t it be fun to be Jay Leno to be able to afford whatever and however many cars you could ever want, rather than dip into that home-equity loan pot? I know this; my garage would only have one Model – Lincoln LSC Mark VII’s the best-styled car ever made -- imho.

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